Not sure how I missed this, but the Kaplan MT medium tank from FNSS/PT Pindad has qualified for mass production, which has now begun. @JonHawkes275 wrote about this class of vehicle earlier this year for @JanesINTEL. It got us thinking about medium tanks. /1 https://twitter.com/FNSS_Savunma/status/1225431340549574656

I remember reading a study that I have now lost, which talked about how such vehicles can improve the efficacy of infantry. The smaller size and ground pressure allow them to follow infantry into most situations and provide fire support. So, in some terrains they <than MBTs /2

For instance, Armor Magazine wrote that the Stryker MGS in Iraq could silence an opponent by simply slewing it’s gun onto the target, which points to a simple fact of large calibre firepower. /3

We understand shell shock and such things quite well, but humans haven’t changed much since the advent of gunpowder and the proliferation of large calibre guns. So it remains true that few humans appreciate being fired at by anything, let alone by large calibre weapons /4

For example, Ukrainians I have interviewed claim that Russian troops in Donbas would tend to scatter at the first indication of return artillery fire. This helps show that training can account for lots of things, but some elements of human nature are hardwired. /5

I suppose my point is, that when thinking of large calibre guns, it’s true role should be considered. Arguing that a vehicle built for inf support should have a 120 over a 105 for instance misses the point. A 105 crashing thru a house will kill/suppress much the same as a 120 /6

That said, the @JonHawkes275 article indicated that there confusingly isn’t a strong market for this type of vehicle (tracked specifically), even tho they clearly have many advantages for inf ops, and in many countries would be far better suited than an MBT. End.